Are Erectile Dysfunction Ads Too Sexy?

May 15, 2009 — -- Television commercials showcasing romantic couples who have been able to overcome their sexual obstacles, thanks to erectile dysfunction pharmaceutical drugs, have become too plentiful and explicit, according to one congressman.

Rep. Jim Moran, D-Va., is proposing legislation that would ban the ads between the hours of 6 a.m. and 10 p.m.

"There just ought to be some limits," he said.

His hope is that nobody will ever have to hear, "If you have an erection lasting four hours, consult your physician," while sitting with a child.

Moran is not suggesting the commercials are pornographic, just that they aren't family fare.

"I do object, when you're sitting around with the kids, to be warning people about a four-hour erection. That's not appropriate," Moran said. "I have no problem with the product. I have a problem with advertising it."

On Thursday, he sent letters to the CEOs of Pfizer, GlaxoSmithKline and Eli Lilly, the makers of Viagra, Levitra and Cialis, respectively, warning them to "limit and moderate" their erectile dysfunction ads, most common during sports and evening news broadcasts, or face congressional legislation that would require the FCC to label them indecent and ban them between the hours of 6 a.m. and 10 p.m.

In his letters, the lawmaker said the three drug makers spent more than $300 million advertising in 2007, and pointed out that "Cialis' advertising expenditures were up to $152 million in 2007, more than 250 percent over 2006.

"These drugs generate billions of dollars in annual sales for their manufacturers who, in turn, have made every attempt to increase their market share for these lifestyle drugs through increasingly aggressive marketing campaigns," Moran wrote.